March, 2006

Inequality is on the Rise, and it Matters

by Jacob Hacker
The Conversation
March 24th, 2006

Be careful what you wish for. I started out by chiding Schmidtz for his abstraction, and now we’re on the verge of debating the technical bases of the Consumer Price Index (CPI)!
I don’t want to go there—not because I am not familiar with the debate, or don’t have things to say, but because I truly [...]

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Three Points

by David Schmidtz
The Conversation
March 22nd, 2006

Three points. Just three, because insofar as it’s a debate, the negative is supposed to respond to the affirmative, and the responsibility of the affirmative, accordingly, is not to say too much. (I sometimes say too much even for academic purposes, not only for purposes of public debate.)
1. Moving up the ladder in absolute [...]

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America’s Poor and the Myth of Mobility

by Jacob Hacker
The Conversation
March 21st, 2006

David Schmidtz’s generous response to my initial posting both pained and pleased me. It pained me because Schmidtz misunderstood my opening complaint about the abstraction of his essay (which he is fair to point out is not only below the norm for academia, but also below the level of some of my own writings). My [...]

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I’m Not a Utilitarian, But I Play One on TV

by David Schmidtz
The Conversation
March 20th, 2006

Peter Singer says, “Oil would have little value if society did not provide the infrastructure that enables us to use it. Wealth does not exist without society, and the security that society provides.” I agree, and I believe in providing that security. Perhaps that leads to a point about inequality. [...]

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